Kensington and Chelsea council wants crackdown on rev count of supercar owners

Souped-up sports cars are a regular sight on the streets around Harrods

Drivers of supercars in Knightsbridge may have to resist the urge to rev their engines or accelerate quickly (Getty)

They are loud, brash and kitted out to impress – and that’s just the super-rich owners.

Souped-up sports cars including Ferraris, Paganis, Lamborghinis and Bugattis are a regular sight on the streets around Harrods and in other fashionable parts of west London. But their owners will soon have to reduce their revs or risk prosecution under proposed new laws.

Some residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have dubbed the summer months “the season” – to mark the sudden and conspicuous influx of wealthy home owners from the Middle East arriving to stay in their London properties.

Many of them bring their supercars with them, but their driving behaviour on the streets of the capital leaves much to be desired.

Acknowledging that “expensive cars racing around Knightsbridge and also parking up and revving their engines” have infuriated long-term residents, Councillor Tim Ahern said: “We want to take steps to discourage these drivers from their antisocial behaviour.”

Under legislation proposed by the council, it would become a criminal offence for drivers to rev their engines, accelerate quickly or leave the engines running while the vehicle is stationary.

Loud music would also be barred, as would honking the horn and driving in convoy, according to a consultation document issued by the council on Friday, which proposes that a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) be imposed on a wide area of Knightsbridge.

It said the idea was a response to “the excessive level of noise, nuisance, annoyance, danger or risk of harm or injury caused by motor vehicles to members of the public and property in the area”.

A PSPO is a new power given to local authorities under the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. It is believed that Kensington and Chelsea’s suggested use of the order would be the first aimed at tackling antisocial driving. If it is enacted after the public consultation ends in September, anyone found in breach of the order would face a fine and potential prosecution. Repeat offenders could see their cars seized by the police.

“The noise goes on all day but it is worse in the evenings and at night,” Quentin Marshall, a fellow councillor and a local resident, told The Sunday Telegraph. “It used to be limited to the summer, but now it is becoming pretty much all year round. We are just trying to stop these people who are abusing the rules and using their cars to make a very loud noise.”

Nick Paget-Brown, the leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, added: “The area has become a destination for boy racers from the Gulf states, and their supercars make an enormous amount of noise. They rev their cars and they can be heard right across the neighbourhood.”

Already worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, some of the cars have been covered in gold or encrusted with Swarovski crystals.